Sicilia comes to us with a profoundly moving story and message. His 24 year old son Juan Francisco was killed in a cartel-related crime in 2011. Sicilia made his pain and rage public with an open letter with the refrain "Estamos hasta la madre!" (colloquial Mexican Spanish for "We've had it!"), calling on all sides of the conflict — including Americans, whose drug and gun market is fully implicated — to a moral reckoning. He founded the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, and has led several marches and caravans across Mexico, and even across the U.S. to Washington, D.C.

Javier Sicilia is coming here because there must be a discussion at all levels of society regarding the madness of the drug war and its massive, tragic toll. This event is part of Global Exchange’s Voices of the Victims Speaking Tour. The Tour will bring the voices of victims of Mexico's drug war and their call for reform to 11 cities in the U.S. and Canada.

The lecture will be followed by a discussion with Ruben Martinez, IDA Visiting Artist, Writer and Journalist, Dr. Angela Garcia, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, and Dr. Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, Senior Fellow, Center for Democracy, Development and Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.